1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus that removes hardness components from water electrically.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are air sterilizing apparatuses known in the art which are designed to counteract viruses and the like suspended in the air, using an electrolyzed water, containing hypochlorous acid, generated by an electrolysis of tap water or the like. In this type of air sterilizing apparatus, the air is sterilized as viruses and the like in the air passing through a gas-liquid contact member are inactivated through contact with the electrolyzed water supplied to the gas-liquid contact member.
However, there are instances where the electrolyzed water used in inactivating viruses and the like contains hardness components (calcium ions, magnesium ions, etc.). And once these hardness components turn into solid matter (scale) inside the gas-liquid contact member, the air passages in the gas-liquid contact member can develop clogging, which may cause a drop in the equipment's capacity for sterilizing. To resolve this problem, a water treatment apparatus called a water softening module is used in softening water by reducing the hardness of electrolyzed water in advance. Also in use is a type of water treatment apparatus called a water softening module, in which the water to be treated is softened by having the hardness components precipitate as scale on electrode portion.
A problem with such conventional water treatment apparatuses has been the precipitation of hardness components as scale on the electrode portion, which results in a pressure loss in the flow path and thus a drop in the amount of passing water. This has been a main cause of the reduced capacity of the equipment in removing the hardness components from water.